I've travelled on a number of airlines to Canada, USA and within Europe with a melodeon - reasonably large 2 1/2 row.

There's never been trouble taking it on as hand baggage except on small internal flights where I've checked it into the hold at the entrance to the plane and got it back there later - standard practice for carry on suitacases and buggies etc on small planes.

It almost always gets stopped at security and I've been asked to open it, play it or have it swabbed for explosive residues (along with my shoes and a lap top).

Going into Canada there is always the question "are you working here". There's an assumption that as you're a musician you're going to be making money from it. I was taken aside for questioning when carrying a melodeon going into Canada and also recently on a business trip between USA and Canada to make sure that I was being payed by my UK parent company and not by a Canadian client.

When and where will you be in Canada. I'm planning to be there in July.

Mitch